Among the culinary delicacies for which Southern Louisiana has rightfully gained worldwide recognition and acclaim are the distinctive ways in which crawfish are prepared and served. This relatively small crustacean, also called crayfish, is rapidly gaining favor in other parts of the nation and, indeed, the world. It has recently been estimated that Louisiana alone consumes about 100 million pounds of crawfish per year, and there is every reason to believe that the nationwide demand for this delicacy will continue to grow.
At present there are two principal ways by which the demand for crawfish is fulfilled. One involves use of baited traps into which the crawfish are lured and captured. The other involves growing them under controlled conditions for harvest, a technique often referred to as aquaculture.
Crawfish thrive abundantly in open fields, especially in flooded rice fields. While traps are often used for capturing crawfish in such open fields, a need exists for a more efficient way of harvesting crawfish from relatively shallow water such as flooded rice paddies and the like. This invention is deemed to fulfill this need most efficiently and expeditiously.